The inaugural Catalpa Festival is coming to New York City on July 28th + 29th 2012 from 1pm to 11pm and is lining up to be the year's most unique and original music and lifestyle event. Taking place on the remarkable Randall's Island, just to the Eastern side of Manhattan, the festival is set beautifully to the backdrop of the world's most famous skyline.

Catalpa is about creating a truly authentic, fresh and unique musical .experience featuring over 50 artists that traverse many styles and genres from rock and indie to hip-hop, reggae and the world of electronic music.

For Frisky as event producers, creating an enhanced setting and original event experience far beyond the standard is the basis of how we operate. We strive to provide not only the very best of the basic elements but also .to create a visual and aesthetic overload that further enhances this already stunning setting by developing thought provoking art installations, bespoke event structures and enough unique elements to transform people out of the city and into a world more fantastic.

.This is Catalpa, a festival experience that music fans can appreciate for its genuine diversity, uniqueness and style.

they've announced 9 out of the 50 or so acts playing. i think it's a bit early to hate on the lineup. the newport folk festival is the same weekend, could be some nice crossover from that (my morning jacket, conor oberst).

"glad there are festivals in the tri-state area again, but would rather have just one great festival ala coachella than all these little turd fests with extremely mediocre headliners/lineups.

this is nyc. give us a radiohead/daft punk level headliner or gtfo"

I think bands might make more money doing their own shows in this area which could be the reason. Hopefully we'll have some good crossover with the festival that's in Montreal the next weekend and get acts like Sigur Ros, Metric, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, etc.

1. the black keys are not huge/epic. it's the biggest publicity scam of the past decade. that's why all GA pit tickets for the MSG show tonight are on stubhub for 100 bucks or below. it's all bullshit PR hype.

2. even if the black keys were huge, literally EVERY black keys fan will have already seen them live this year by the time Catalpa Festival takes place (2 MSG shows, 1 album release show at Webster Hall, one show in Atlantic city, all within the span of three months).

3. if you ever see 'the black keys' as a festival headliner and are satisfied, you should cut your ears off.

"Is this an actual festival or just a bunch of bands opening for the Black Keys? Kind of like Arcade Fire at Randalls Island? That wasn't a fest but some decent acts opened for them."

Doubt it if they are planning on raising their ticket prices. Also it's a 2-day festival so...the Keys are likely only playing one night.

"Even if the black keys were huge, literally EVERY black keys fan will have already seen them live this year by the time Catalpa Festival takes place (2 MSG shows, 1 album release show at Webster Hall, one show in Atlantic city, all within the span of three months)."

Possibly but with a strong undercard, you can probably draw 10-12k people there each day.

Little do people realize - Snoop already does that album anyway regardless of the show + he does half of his catalog ontop of it. hip-hop acts don't do full album sets like rock bands - SEE ROCK THE BELLS AND PAID DUES - it's just a gimmick in the billing.

"1. the black keys are not huge/epic. it's the biggest publicity scam of the past decade. that's why all GA pit tickets for the MSG show tonight are on stubhub for 100 bucks or below. it's all bullshit PR hype."

Let me go one step further, why bother with StubHub, Go on craigslist. It was a fire sale the first show and for this as well. Under face and that goes for the front pit as well. It is a complete joke. Apparently the first night outside the garden was swarmed with scalpers trying to sell to anyone who would take and there were not many takers. My asshole they sold out MSG these nights. But people buy into the hype and promoter bullshit like 2:38. OMG shocking more tix on sale.

Lame. It cracks me up when organizers claim you can see "the backdrop of the world's most famous skyline" at Randall's Island. All you can see is the Triborough Bridge, an insane asylum, a track field and some apartments in Harlem. That bathroom situation is always the worst at Randall's.

i go to festivals for the overall outdoor summer experience. whats all the bitching for? i'll prob still see my fav band in a decent indoor venue this year anyway. i'm sure each festival will have enough eye candy. as if living in nyc during the summer isnt enough eye candy already. dont mean you're gonna get laid foolio..